Inclusive Training Course: Support Self Disclosure
Our online course, Support Self-Disclosure, will help organizations create a workplace that is disability inclusive. The training focuses on removing barriers, addressing biases on the job, and promoting a safe and understanding culture where employees with disabilities know their employer values them for who they are and their work.
A job interview is stressful for almost everyone. Thinking about what questions the interviewer will ask, building up the energy to promote yourself, and making sure you are on time and look great can worry most people. Now add to the situation whether or not to tell your potential employer about your disability.
For some people with disabilities, there is no decision to make about disability disclosure. You can’t hide a wheelchair, a service dog, or an interpreter. But 70% of people with disabilities have what are known as hidden or invisible disabilities. These disabilities include diabetes, Crohn’s disease, learning disabilities, and autism, to name just a few.
Sadly, most people with hidden or invisible disabilities choose not to disclose their disability in an interview for fear of rejection. So, what happens when they get the job? That’s up to you as the employer.
Even when people with hidden or invisible disabilities become employed, up to 90% of this group choose not to disclose their disability at work. To be an accessible employer, you must understand how to support self-disclosure. By providing your employees with disabilities the resources, flexibility, and support they need, you can create a culture that fosters higher productivity, happier staff, and customers who align with your company values. It’s in the best interest of your business to accommodate employees with disabilities.
You may be thinking, “What can I do at work to make disabled people feel safe and free from others’ biases?” “And what happens after someone does tell me about their disability? How do I support them on the job? Do I have to offer support to them? How will this new information affect other employees and the work culture?”
These are all good questions. Presidents Group has developed a new online course called Support Self-Disclosure. The online learning course, which is free to BC employers, provides answers to these questions.
You will learn how to:
- Identify barriers that may lead people to not talk about their disabilities at work.
- Respond to an employee’s disclosure about their disability.
- Understand that there are different ways to disclose a disability or accommodation request – and all are the ‘right way’ to do so.
- Address accommodation requests so that you meet your duty to accommodate as an employer.
- Measure and evaluate the actions you take to make your organization more inclusive.
- Encourage people to disclose their disability and find out how other organizations did it in their workplaces.
At the end of the day, employees with disabilities don’t want different treatment on the job. But they do want the tools they need to get their jobs done. It is interesting to note that 57% of employees with disabilities don’t need any accommodations. And for those who do, the average cost is $500.
Take the Support Self-Disclosure online course and learn how your company can shift its culture to be more disability-inclusive beginning today.
